The First Winter He Loved Her
by BlueSuedeShoes
Summary: Total and utter AU fluff-A winter of holidays from Oliver's perspective-He was pretty sure the first time Chloe Sullivan had ever caused his heart to skip a beat had been Halloween.


**Images are included with the story if you read it on my LiveJournal. The link is on my homepage.**

**Happy Holidays, everyone!**

**BlueSuede**

**Halloween**

That was what started it. Oliver was fairly certain he could date it to that exact day. He knew Chloe was attractive. He was a man, after all. And unless your name was Clark Kent, Chloe was hard to ignore.

But he was pretty sure the first time Chloe Sullivan had ever caused his heart to skip a beat had been Halloween.

He hadn't been expecting to see her when he walked into Watchtower that Halloween night. He had understood that Clark and Lois were dragging her along on to a costume party with a blind date. As a matter of fact, he'd already run into Clark and Lois dressed as Gomez and Morticia Addams (Clark appearing extremely uncomfortable, like he always did in a costume) on their way to pick Chloe up. That had been a half hour ago. Chloe was supposed to be long gone by then.

So when he saw her typing furiously-and he meant _furiously_-at a computer screen in Watchtower, it was a definite surprise.

"Chloe?" he asked, throwing back his hood and hanging up his bow.

She turned to look at him and that was when it happened-he felt his heart do a strange little flip midair.

She looked stunning. He'd realized she was in a dress but...well..."Wow," he heard himself say, eyebrows shooting up. "You certainly are fancy." His eyes traced the gold gown from the floor up, noting the crown perched in her hair before suddenly realizing the expression on her face was an extremely sour one. "Um...problem?"

"Did _you_ know that Lois and Clark were trying to set me up tonight?"

He stammered confused. "I-well-wait...didn't you?"

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Apparently I was the only one Lois didn't deem worthy of the information."

Oliver grimaced as she turned back to the computer. "So..."

"So the moment I set eyes on him I figured out what was going on and I turned right back around and came back up here to work on things I was putting off until Monday as it was."

Oliver sucked in a breath through his teeth. Lois was not going to be happy. "At risk of asking a stupid question, would it be _so_ horrible to just go out with the guy and murder Lois later?"

Chloe glanced over her shoulder and shot him a glare that had him backing up a step. "Sorry. Stupid question. Got it."

Chloe sighed, leaning against her post with a weary expression. "No, you're right. I should have just gone, but I just...I know if I let Lois get away with something like that she'll keep pushing her luck. Besides, I'm perfectly capable of meeting someone on my own. Just because I'm single doesn't mean I'm miserable," she asserted defensively, and Oliver couldn't help the suspicion that she told herself that at least once a day for no one's benefit but her own.

He smiled understandingly. He knew where she was coming from. "Well, you know," he said, "I've got a QI-Luthercorp event tonight and my arm is depressingly empty for it..." he trailed off, arching his brow questioningly at her.

Chloe smiled half-heartedly. "Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm fine staying home."

He might have left it at that, but he could tell she was only saying no because she thought he felt sorry for her-which he did, but that wasn't the point. "Aw come on," he walked over to her side. "Don't make me face them all alone. Besides, you look far too pretty not to go anywhere right now," he took her hand and spun her around to appreciate the full effect of her princess costume.

She giggled lightly and he smiled warmly and the genuineness of the sound. "It's settled then. I'll get you a mask," he told her, before heading out of the room.

"Mask?" she called after him.

"Masquerade," he explained. "It _is_ Halloween, you know."

**Thanksgiving**

Thanksgiving was the first time he really thought about it.

Since that Halloween, he'd acknowledged the fact that Chloe could, in fact, make his heart skip a beat without so much as lifting a finger. He didn't put too much thought into it, recognizing that that way lay madness.

But at Thanksgiving he hadn't been able to help it. The entire league had been invited to the Kent house for the holiday, and he'd found himself spending more and more time with her.

Chloe had excused herself from the kitchen for a while, explaining that Mrs. Kent, Dinah, Lois, and Zatanna was just a few too many women sharing one kitchen for her. Especially considering that Lois was one of those women. Instead, she'd come outside to watch the boys' impromptu football game.

"How's my pie coming, 'licious?" Bart hollered at her in greeting when she stepped out of the house into the cold, gray November weather, clutching a mug of what was probably hot coffee.

"I'll let you know when the smoke alarms stop going off, Bart," she joked back to him. The boys chuckled, and suddenly Bart had appeared at Chloe's side, arm around her shoulder.

"That's okay, Chloelicious. I can think of other dessert ideas."

"Hey, Bart, what is this?" AC shouted at him, his disappearance having thrown off their game.

"Yeah, Bart," Oliver joined in. "Quit flirting and get your ass on the field!"

"There are more important things than football!" Bart responded.

Chloe just laughed as Bart whispered something in her ear and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

Oliver watched her laugh and felt a strange coiling in his stomach. Refusing to acknowledge the possibility it was called by jealousy, he went over to grab Chloe's hand, taking the coffee cup from her and setting it aside.

"Well you can just play, too, then," he said, grinning and dragging her onto the field.

"What?" Chloe asked, shocked. "No way. You've got the wrong sidekick, Queen."

He shook his head, mischief in his eyes. "Nope. Clearly we're going to lose a man if you're not out here, so if _this_ is the only way to keep Bart's attention on the game, then you're just going to have to make a sacrifice."

Chloe protesting all the way, but the boys finally persuaded her to play, and to Oliver's shock she wasn't half bad.

It wasn't until he managed to tackle her to the ground, both of them getting completely covered in mud, just in time to stop her from scoring that he suddenly thought about it:

Chloe.

In his arms.

He released her immediately, and no one noticed that anything unusual had happened as Chloe laughed and he watched her with a smirk. She grabbed handful of mud and shoved it in his face, which of course he returned in kind, the rest of group eventually ending up just as covered in mud as they were.

He continued thinking about it as he helped her off the ground, as he pulled some of the mud out of her hair before tucking it behind her ear. He thought about it through dinner, and he worried that someone might notice how quiet he'd gotten, but on one did, except Chloe. But he should have expected that. She noticed everything.

She called him out on it much later in the evening, walking out of the kitchen, wiping a plate dry with a dish towel and setting it aside before sitting down next to him on the couch.

"You okay?" she asked, friendly concern in her voice.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm great." He acted as though nothing were different.

He saw a small crease form between her eyebrows. "Okay, well, I guess...you just seem kind of far away. I just wanted to make sure."

He nodded again, throwing an arm around her shoulder and turning back to the football game everyone else had tuned into. "Thanks, Chloe."

She seemed surprised at being dragged next to him, but she relaxed easily, and that gave him a small sense of satisfaction. He liked that she was comfortable with him.

**Christmas**

Christmas was the first time he knew it was a serious problem.

He hadn't been able to stop himself. He'd just..._asked_ her before he could help himself.

About a week before Christmas he'd been talking to Lois about how she and Clark were going away together for Christmas, to a ski resort.

The fact had left him wondering where that left Chloe. She was probably spending a quiet holiday with Mrs. Kent, but...well, what could it hurt?

"Hey, Sidekick. What are you up to?" he asked her, walking into the Talon unannounced.

She looked up in surprise. She raised an amused eyebrow. "What is it about the men in my life that they don't know how to knock?"

He mocked a hurt expression. "And here I thought I was always welcome."

She laughed and walked over to place an affectionate kiss on his cheek. "Always," she grinned at him. "But what brings you here, anyway?" she asked, heading back into the kitchen to pull a coffee mug out of the microwave before turning back to the newspaper she'd been reading.

"I wanted to know what you're doing for the holidays."

She looked up at him in surprise, setting the coffee back down. "Nothing. Why?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Clark told me he was whisking Lois away, and I wanted to make sure you weren't going to spend the holidays alone."

She blinked a couple of times. "Well, yeah, but it's not a big deal. Mrs. Kent is wrapped up in Washington, unfortunately, so it's just me. But I'm cool with it. I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet."

_Blatant lie,_ Oliver thought to himself. "I'll buy that, but you can't honestly say you wouldn't rather have some company right?"

That was when he suddenly realized what he was doing. Was he insane? This was far more serious than he'd realized before.

_Okay...detour._

"Because I was thinking of inviting the League back to Star City with me. Thanksgiving was pretty nice, and I hate to see all the guys spend Christmas on their own, you know?"

Her face lit up at the suggestion. "That sounds really great. Who's coming?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping she didn't see right through him. "Don't know yet. You're the first one I've asked."

She grinned, completely missing what had really happened. "You want me to ask them for you, don't you."

He latched onto the excuse. "Yep," he said shamefully.

She stood up and immediately pulled her phone out to start calling the boys. "On it," she said. Then she glanced up at him. "Manchild," she teased.

"Hey," he defended. "They're ten times more likely to say yes to you."

"Very true," she agreed with a laugh that warmed him inside out.

By the time they hit the actual holiday he was realizing he had it bad. Really bad. This was an extremely serious problem.

He had caught himself considering castrating AC just because he and Chloe got caught under one of the sprigs of mistletoe that Bart had hung _everywhere._

And that was a _tame_ kiss. So respectful she couldn't have been kissing a minor acquaintance.

Oh yeah. He had a serious, serious problem here.

**New Year's**

New Year's was the first time he did something stupid.

They were still at his place in Star City, no one really wanting the vacation to end,

And she was just standing there in that unlawfully attractive little black dress, her face flushed from the amount of wine she'd had.

Come to think of it, he'd had a few glasses himself. That probably explained part of it.

She'd started counting down with everyone as they watched the ball drop on TV, and he'd gotten entranced by the smile on her face.

Then all of a sudden, as if he had absolutely no sense of self-control, he'd pulled her into a kiss, curious to know what her lips tasted like after all that wine.

She'd pulled back looking startled but unconcerned. "Well Happy New Year to you, too, Ollie," she laughed.

She thought he'd kissed her because it was midnight.

_I am one lucky idiot_, he'd thought gratefully. "Happy New Year, Sidekick," he told her before she vanished to help Dinah pour everyone champagne.

**Ground Hog's Day**

It wasn't until early February that he recognized for the first time that this wasn't going to go away.

He was hanging around at Watchtower, something he had taken to doing a lot with no explanation lately. Chloe seemed to enjoy his company, which meant he came as often as he had a free moment.

She burst in the door, her cheeks flushed from the wind, her gold hair gleaming with all the snow caught in it, creating a fuzzy halo effect around her face. She was wrapped up in scarf, coat, and gloves to within an inch of her life, and Oliver couldn't help laughing at the expression on her face.

"I hate winter."

"No you don't," he laughed, coming over to help her out of her parka. "You love it."

"Fine," she conceded. "But I hate the wind."

"That I'll give you," he allowed, grinning like an idiot for no apparent reason other than her presence.

She shook the snow out of her hair and flecks of it fell into his face, causing him to jolt in surprise. "Ugh!" he said, brushing the melting water from his face.

Chloe laughed vindictively. "You hate it, too."

"I do not. I happen to _love_ winter. And we're getting six more weeks of it, by the way."

She looked up at him, "You're kidding?"

"Yep, good ole' ground hog saw his shadow."

She made a sound of disgust before he pressed a hot mug of coffee that he'd had waiting for her into her hands.

"What was that?" he grinned.

"I love you, Ollie," she said childishly, grasping the coffee in delight and taking a long draught from it. "Oh, God," she moaned, eyes fluttering closed.

"That's what I thought," he said, ignoring the jolt that went through him at the words.

"But if I get snowed into this Tower," she added, heading for the couch. "I'm holding that groundhog personally responsible."

"Aw, leave the poor forest creature alone, Watchtower. Maybe we'll get snowed in together. That wouldn't be so bad, now, would it?" he grinned. "At least you'd have company."

She scrunched up her nose, assessing. "Fine. I could live with that. But only if it's you. I do _not_ need to be stuck in here with Bart."

He sat down next to her, failing to repress his delight that she wouldn't want to be trapped with Bart.

"What about you?" she teased. "Don't you think you'd get sick of me pretty quickly?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Sick of you? I doubt it. But I'd be willing to test the theory sometime," he joked.

And then it hit him. This was definitely not going away any time soon.

**Valentine's Day**

Valentine's Day was the first time he did something about it.

Not that it worked the way he planned.

He was stuck out of town for February 14th, unfortunately, but it hadn't stopped him from sending the somewhat excessively large bouquet of red roses to Watchtower for her, note attached with the words "Be My Valentine-Oliver" and a little drawing of a heart with an arrow through it.

He wondered how she'd respond when she got it. Knowing her, if she didn't think of him like that, she'd be able to easily brush it aside as a sweet gesture from a friend who knew she'd be alone on Valentine's Day. Actually, even if she _did_ see him that way that was pretty like to be her response. He didn't really expect her to get the message. Convincing her would take more than a couple flowers on her doorstep.

He was leaning back in his desk chair at his office, cursing the fact that he couldn't be in Metropolis to spend the day with her when she came bursting into his office, an expression of determination on her face. She marched up to him, pulled him out of his chair and planted one on him, hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

She released him and said simply, "Happy Valentine's Day," then stared at him expectantly, waiting for a reaction.

He blinked a few times, not sure if he were imagining this or not before finally saying, "Jeez, if this is how you react, I'm sending you flowers _every_ day."

"Flowers?" she questioned confused.

"The roses I sent to Watchtower..." he said, frowning.

Her expression lit up then. "You sent me flowers?"

"Didn't you get them?"

She shook her head. "I never made it to Watchtower this morning. I sort of found myself at the airport before I even realized where I was going," she admitted with a sheepish grin, her ears turning red. "What kind were they?"

"Roses."

"What color?" she asked, eyes dancing as if she already knew.

"Red."

"Huh. Interesting," she grinned. "Now, more importantly. I just kissed you. I'd like to know what you intend to do about that," she taunted.

"This," he said, pulling her into his arms to kiss her properly.

"That's a good thing to do," she muttered against his lips.

"Shut up."


End file.
